Been beta-testing this game and I have to say, it's a good old-school style 4x with simple and extensive mod capability. I don't usually bother with modding (what can I say I'm lazy), but it was so simple I started before the game was even officially released.

I am generally not a fan of 4X games, however I found that Star Drive was more of a 4X/hybrid, solving many problems that plague 4X games, such as inability to control game speed and complete lack of any real diplomatic options. Star Drive does have an emphasis on its combat and modular ship building, while other areas such as Diplomacy or Tech are still Robust, but not quite as deep.I am generally not a fan of 4X games, however I found that Star Drive was more of a 4X/hybrid, solving many problems that plague 4X games, such as inability to control game speed and complete lack of any real diplomatic options. Star Drive does have an emphasis on its combat and modular ship building, while other areas such as Diplomacy or Tech are still Robust, but not quite as deep. The presentation and feel of the game are excellent, in particular the art assets for the Alien races. Like most 4X games, the game takes a bit of learning before you've got a grasp on whats really going on, but that just comes with this type of game.…Expand

129 hours clocked since beta and a good 10 hours since official steam release. Havent regretted one minute i've spent with it.

Level of polish in audiovisual terms is amazing, good in gameplay terms. One of the most active developers i have seen in my two full decades of gaming history with devotion to his product rarely seen.
Minor amount of bugs, much less than you'd expect from129 hours clocked since beta and a good 10 hours since official steam release. Havent regretted one minute i've spent with it.

Level of polish in audiovisual terms is amazing, good in gameplay terms. One of the most active developers i have seen in my two full decades of gaming history with devotion to his product rarely seen.

Minor amount of bugs, much less than you'd expect from indies in general and stellarly better than most major publishers with a turnaround time for fixes to issues being measured in days not weeks or months.

While it might sound a bit corny to some i'll take the risk regardless, this could very well shape to be the second coming of jesus (spiritual successor to MoO2).

Easy enough to learn basics, yet decent amount of depth and expanding all the time. Recommended for scifi buffs of all stripes, strategy gamers usually but not for faint of heart looking for a quick casual fling.…Expand

This game is going to be a cult hit. Zero has said that he will keep updating the game to smooth out the technical issues and add depth. Serious modding is a given. The game is instantly familiar and enjoyable, right out of the box, to a 4X strategy veteran. The highlights of the game for me are the intricate shipyard (ship designer screen) with a ridiculous amount of replayability, andThis game is going to be a cult hit. Zero has said that he will keep updating the game to smooth out the technical issues and add depth. Serious modding is a given. The game is instantly familiar and enjoyable, right out of the box, to a 4X strategy veteran. The highlights of the game for me are the intricate shipyard (ship designer screen) with a ridiculous amount of replayability, and the diverse ways that the different AI opponents act towards you. Combat itself is interesting and varied due to the uniqueness of every ship design.…Expand

I got this game one day before it came out of beta, because I have been looking for a game like this for a while, and did not find anything that I really liked. This game has hit the spot. I have sunk 12 hours in, and can't wait to lose another 100. There is still some bugs in this game, some performance issues and some problems with the ordering of ships refusing to go where you want.I got this game one day before it came out of beta, because I have been looking for a game like this for a while, and did not find anything that I really liked. This game has hit the spot. I have sunk 12 hours in, and can't wait to lose another 100. There is still some bugs in this game, some performance issues and some problems with the ordering of ships refusing to go where you want. This frustrated me a little, but it did not break the game, nor take away from my enjoyment of it too much.

If you are looking for a solid 4x space game, with nice graphics, good audio, then this is it. The modular design is what you will be spending a lot of your time on, so if you think that this would annoy you, be forewarned. Have not looked at any mods yet, but if there is a solid set of tools, hopefully some great mods will appear soon too.…Expand

This game is extremely entertaining, the colony management, diplomacy, and exploration is up there with civilization. The races/factions are diverse and entertaining. However, where this game pulls ahead like no other is ship design and combat. Every module on a ship is placed into a hull by you, and then in combat, the ship takes damage realistically. Place armor between incoming fire andThis game is extremely entertaining, the colony management, diplomacy, and exploration is up there with civilization. The races/factions are diverse and entertaining. However, where this game pulls ahead like no other is ship design and combat. Every module on a ship is placed into a hull by you, and then in combat, the ship takes damage realistically. Place armor between incoming fire and your reactors if you want to live.…Expand

This game takes the cake when it comes to all of the indie sci-fi 4x games that have been coming out lately. Last year we saw Endless Space, which was phenomenal, but the game seemed to lose some luster at the end. This game, however, brings back the beauty of Sins of a Solar Empire's real time space battles, while giving us an even deeper customization option for ships than what EndlessThis game takes the cake when it comes to all of the indie sci-fi 4x games that have been coming out lately. Last year we saw Endless Space, which was phenomenal, but the game seemed to lose some luster at the end. This game, however, brings back the beauty of Sins of a Solar Empire's real time space battles, while giving us an even deeper customization option for ships than what Endless Space gave us. The technology tree is deep, the variety of ships you can build is vast, and the species are quite varied. The game runs very smoothly as well, only minimal lag in late game environments. With the development continuing to be on-going post release, this game is a must have for fans of the science fiction strategy genre.…Expand

This game really brings back a ton of the excitement that I had when playing games like StarControl and Masters of Orion. I'm a digital artist working in the games industry and I can really appreciate the detail and crafting put into the space combat.

While there are a lot of polish points that the game could benefit from addressing (UI, planetary and fleet management, etc) I applaudThis game really brings back a ton of the excitement that I had when playing games like StarControl and Masters of Orion. I'm a digital artist working in the games industry and I can really appreciate the detail and crafting put into the space combat.

While there are a lot of polish points that the game could benefit from addressing (UI, planetary and fleet management, etc) I applaud the makers of this game for creating a really engaging (and addictive!) experience that even a more novice player such as myself can sink their teeth into.

I look forward to playing this game a TON more and seeing what the developers come up with next be it DLC content or a new game. StarDrive is something they could build a huge franchise on and I wish them warp speed in their efforts to bring 4X strategy games back in force!…Expand

This game is not the best in the world, but then again, it may be the only recognizable 4x REAL-TIME space game that I haven't seen in the market in a long time. However many people posted negative reviews over the memory leakages or the cost of the game, but in all honesty it is foolish to rate it anything below a 6 or anything above an 8. This game was made by a kickstarter developed byThis game is not the best in the world, but then again, it may be the only recognizable 4x REAL-TIME space game that I haven't seen in the market in a long time. However many people posted negative reviews over the memory leakages or the cost of the game, but in all honesty it is foolish to rate it anything below a 6 or anything above an 8. This game was made by a kickstarter developed by a staff of 1 person, literally 1 person, so it is obvious it was priced at $29 to not only pay back investors, but to also return the cost to the developer.

In the current form of the game, it is single player playable, but lacks multiplayer. On the good news the Developer has promised to continue patching and updating the game in the future, which grants optimism into expecting multiplayer, but in the current state it does not have multiplayer. The game also has had before patch 1.11b multiple instances of memory leakages in late game and is still be patched because of that reason. Options menu doesn't give many choices... or much at all.…Expand

I been wasting a ton of time(fun time) in fact about 365 steam record hours(not steam play throw in many more hours). I simply love this space space strategy game. its almost like old school turn base but its real time. so use pause alot when clicking on some things. reminds me of starcontrol and starcontrol two. But you can built a empire!

Ship design is for me the heart of the game,I been wasting a ton of time(fun time) in fact about 365 steam record hours(not steam play throw in many more hours). I simply love this space space strategy game. its almost like old school turn base but its real time. so use pause alot when clicking on some things. reminds me of starcontrol and starcontrol two. But you can built a empire!

Ship design is for me the heart of the game, ship hulls are different for different civilizations. The fun part is how you use different components into the ship design to beat the other civilizations. since they have access to the same tech research as you. seeing your superior designs destroy them!! LIke a fleet of meat into your meatgrinder!

For example my favorite is the Kulrathi aka bearmen their ships might not be the fastest(not too many engine slots, you can put in different type of engines into that slot). but their fighter are the largest in the game. I love putting in fighter bays(they spawn fighters(free fighters)) into all my Titan ships(they are the largest hull type every civilization gets, each civilization has different sizes and shapes of that hull). I love putting in remnant shields onto the fighters and tons of weapons and no wrapdrive only thrust. They can be respawn from the carrier. Park the carrier slightly farther away from the fighting. wave after wave of fighters just destroy anything in their path.

With many patches later they fix the Remnant quest. Also remnant tech is always the most powerful in game. There are a few mods out there but the ones that still out there is fun.…Expand

Amazing game. Everything you want in an empire builder. While the economic and diplomatic elements aren't as deep as say gal civ or civ5, you still have control over what kind of empire you want to create. Managing colonies is simple and easy, letting you focus on the RTS elements like fleet building and space battles. The only gripe I have with this game is that in the later stages the AIAmazing game. Everything you want in an empire builder. While the economic and diplomatic elements aren't as deep as say gal civ or civ5, you still have control over what kind of empire you want to create. Managing colonies is simple and easy, letting you focus on the RTS elements like fleet building and space battles. The only gripe I have with this game is that in the later stages the AI doesn't come close to competing with any decent player but im sure zero will tweak this in the future…Expand

The game performs great and has lots of character not seen in most 4x games. I look forward to seeing what the developer has in store for this game in future expansion packs. Diplomacy and alliances could use some fleshing out along with random events and flavor added to the experience but other than that it's much better than most offerings in this genre. This game stands tall withThe game performs great and has lots of character not seen in most 4x games. I look forward to seeing what the developer has in store for this game in future expansion packs. Diplomacy and alliances could use some fleshing out along with random events and flavor added to the experience but other than that it's much better than most offerings in this genre. This game stands tall with awesome space strategy titles like GalCiv2 and Distant Worlds.…Expand

I played this game since the beta-access (over 80 hours) and I love it! Of course, it has its problems, bugs and so on... but have to give 10 points, because I spend so much time enjoying it.

This game is done by one developer and it is awesome! The feeling, the battle, the idea behind this game is so nice, you will love it. If you are not sure about buying this game, check some "letsI played this game since the beta-access (over 80 hours) and I love it! Of course, it has its problems, bugs and so on... but have to give 10 points, because I spend so much time enjoying it.

This game is done by one developer and it is awesome! The feeling, the battle, the idea behind this game is so nice, you will love it. If you are not sure about buying this game, check some "lets plays" on youtube. There are good previews which can help you with your decision. …Expand

First, the bad: StarDrive is a good game, but it was not ready for launch day. In my opinion it should have been delayed another few weeks. Echoing the other comments I see here, the biggest issue right now is the game instability and the late game slow down/lag. This alone is a reason to keep it in beta. I understand games these days are fluid with the ability to patch and update onFirst, the bad: StarDrive is a good game, but it was not ready for launch day. In my opinion it should have been delayed another few weeks. Echoing the other comments I see here, the biggest issue right now is the game instability and the late game slow down/lag. This alone is a reason to keep it in beta. I understand games these days are fluid with the ability to patch and update on the fly, however there is a certain standard of stability and reliability I think is expected of an officially launched title, and this game does not meet that criteria.

The second troubling issue is that while the mechanics are sound, the game itself lacks depth. The research trees need to be broadened, diplomacy needs to be deeper, and there needs to be more weapons/ship components. It reminds me a lot of a game called Star Ruler, which was fun but needed some additional polish which in time was added both by Mods and the developers themselves.

That all being said, the developer has shown to be an extremely dedicated and motivated individual, and I have no doubt in my mind that these things WILL be added, in time.

The game itself has excellent core content, the concepts are well designed, economy makes sense, and combat is fantastic. Modding is built in right from the beginning, and multi-player is on the horizon. If anything, this game has some great potential. I hope it does not become another Star Ruler, where it was not financially viable to create another expansion/continue updating.⁭
If I had to do it all over again, I would still buy this game again today.…Expand

Probably the most fun 4x game I've ever played. It currently has it's share of bugs and requires a ton of polish. However I've had more fun with this unfinished product then I did with Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion, Endless space, and Sword of the stars(the first sots, I don't like the second) combined. The ship building as good if not better then Sots, the empire management and combatProbably the most fun 4x game I've ever played. It currently has it's share of bugs and requires a ton of polish. However I've had more fun with this unfinished product then I did with Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion, Endless space, and Sword of the stars(the first sots, I don't like the second) combined. The ship building as good if not better then Sots, the empire management and combat is better then Sins, and the planet/star system development is better then Endless space. Add on top of that the optional auto managing systems which make even me, the single worst macro player ever, able to fight on five fronts with nine different fleets and you have a great game. I just can't wait for future updates.…Expand

The best game i have played yet this year and its only 30 BUcks!!!! Stardrive will keep your brain imersed in galatic stratagy....This game has amazing gameplay/graphics/replayability...It is quite hard to imagine that only a single person wrote all the code for this...I will be playing this game all through the year before i get sick of it...

Brought into the Beta about a month before release. Played a good 60+ hours. The game is very good, i was doubtful because it is RTS but the pacing is just right and pause means you can play it just like a turn based game.
Pros
The 4X aspects are all there and work nicely. But the real joy is ship building, which is just great.
The game is stable and runs well.
Cons
Only real negativeBrought into the Beta about a month before release. Played a good 60+ hours. The game is very good, i was doubtful because it is RTS but the pacing is just right and pause means you can play it just like a turn based game.
Pros
The 4X aspects are all there and work nicely. But the real joy is ship building, which is just great.
The game is stable and runs well.
Cons
Only real negative is that it could do with more events etc. But i feel confident that this will be added with time and even if no new content is added to the game the current build is worthy of 9/10. With more content i can well believe it would be worth 10/10.
If you like 4X space games buy it, it is the real deal.…Expand

TL;DR version first! This is easily the best 4x space game in years. It's not the most perfect 4x space game ever, yet, but by far the most pure fun. I could go on, and on, but to try and cut down what's good about it, I'll stick to the 4 standout parts. 1. It remembers when 4x's were FUN Do you remember when 4x games bothered with things like "fun", "charm" or "wit"? When you couldTL;DR version first! This is easily the best 4x space game in years. It's not the most perfect 4x space game ever, yet, but by far the most pure fun. I could go on, and on, but to try and cut down what's good about it, I'll stick to the 4 standout parts. 1. It remembers when 4x's were FUN Do you remember when 4x games bothered with things like "fun", "charm" or "wit"? When you could assume that by "4x" they would try to make each of those "X"s was it's own fun thing to do rather than some set of chores? When there was any concept of "gameplay" beyond managing unending tedious lists of supplies, or fighting to understand some abstracted-far-too-far funsucking interpretation of space combat?

OK, well, Stardrive remembers what 4x games used to be like. It remembers Star Control 2, it remembers Master of Orion 2, it remembers Escape Velocity. Not simply that it's a game like them, in the same genre, but something like they were like. It's some relic from a time when people made strategy games that were any fun at all, only with gigantic 3d spaceships firing dozens upon dozens of multibarrel chainguns, torpedos and Freespace 2 style beams at each other in 3d, rather than little sprites. It even recalls a time when it might have been considered fun if the player could aim and shoot something occasionally! Everything you build can be controlled, either as a lone wolf, a squad or with literally every ship you have maintaining formation with you.

2. Personality -

Easily the best and most inventive collection of frenemy races in a 4x game since Alpha Centauri. Every race gets assigned Civ4/5 style behavioural traits per-game on top of their race characteristics. Every one can be interrogated about the other, and have a dozen or so responses to questions and proposals based on how they feel and how things have historically gone down. They're also absolutely beautiful to look at, and their animated "portraits" ooze personality. It's a 4x game where someone would bother to write lines and lines of detailed, in-character flavour text: how much of a throwback is that? I know right?! But it adds so much and it's so great they did it.

3. Ship building and COMBAT -

This part is awesome. It's not the usual mess of, "oh, I upgraded my tech to lasers 4, so now I'll put 3 laser 4s on rather than 5 laser 3s", etc, etc, zzz, zzz. Nothing like that. Combat is realtime pausable and RTS-like, with configurable AI formations, and configurable behaviours down to a point where you can specify what any one ship in a fleet of hundreds should be doing on 6 different behaviour sliders. Ship design is an epic balancing act, every component has a different physical size in the ship, power draw, health, facing, range, etc. Loads of different and specific weapon types too: ion guns to drain power from unshielded ships (and it's not that ships are "shielded" or not individual shields can be knocked out and you can zap anything exposed!). Chainguns. Huge long lance torpedos. Point defence guns. EMP lasers. Boarding parties on shuttles and counter-boarding barracks. Ships that have onboard factories to make loads of little escort combat ships. There's just so much sheer STUFF, and the Lego-like ship builder is very easy to use. The game hits this part so far out of the park it's not funny. And of course you actually get to fly anything you build around, and blow stuff up with it. Simply awesome, awesome, awesome.

4. Developer "gets it" -

This guy has a lot of the right answers to things modding? "of course you can mod it, I made it pitifully easy and everything sits in xml". Or "I saw you guys wanted feature X this morning so I spent the afternoon putting it in the game". In the couple of weeks I've had the beta, performance and stability has massively increased from where it was to begin with, and the dude was throwing out multiple updates per day. So, so good to see a developer care whether you are enjoying the game, let alone enough to do something about it immediately!

I mentioned it's not the perfect game, and it's unfortunately true that it could really use a large rebalance and annoyance-cleanup in things like the UI, AI, and other elements. It's not showstoppingly horrible by any means, or some new SOTS2/Pegasus style disaster. But, fact is, when you have a lot of elements of the game that are outstanding, it really makes the few parts that are ordinary look a lot worse.

All up though I played the crashiest, worst performing, inexplicably weird version of the game, for a couple of weeks, and spend around 90 hours on it. For the most part, having an absolute blast. When the core game is actually fun to play, the other stuff fades into the background. Even in mutant beta form this has been one of the best games I've played all year.…Expand

Awesome Space RTS game with a lot of (working!) great ideas and concepts. It's the first game since SoasE, which fascinated me enough, to play it more than 80 hours. But it has to be mentioned, that Stardrive is updated every few days and has reached release status just today(!) Moreover the communication and feedback between programers and community is extremely good! :)

What I likedAwesome Space RTS game with a lot of (working!) great ideas and concepts. It's the first game since SoasE, which fascinated me enough, to play it more than 80 hours. But it has to be mentioned, that Stardrive is updated every few days and has reached release status just today(!) Moreover the communication and feedback between programers and community is extremely good! :)

What I liked the most about Stardrive, besides the typical game play things like RTS and 4X elements, are the innovative new concepts for ship designing and fleet battles. It is possible to build all kind of ships, with a loadout, that I know from SciFi movies, games and books. (But not the look I'm sure, there will be graphic mods soon)
- ST Federation Ships: Strong Shields, 360°Phasors and Torpedos
- ST Klingon Ships: Fast Birds of Prey with strong forward disruptors
- Star Wars: Star Destroyers with strong 360° slow firing plasma weapons (relying on fighter crafts to engange small crafts)
- BSG: Carrier Ships with many fighter crafts (loadout can be individual, too), strong armor and close range point defense guns
- Stargate: Atlantis style star bases with shield/armor ignoring projectiles.
- Freelancer: Galaxy wide warp-enhancing "autobahn" network buildable similar to the jump gates routes in the game.

Other cool features:
- Ships need a lot of power generators or power cells to fly with FTL speed. (My first designed ship could only warp 3 seconds and fell out of FTL! ^_^)
- Boarding parties can caputure/defend ships
- EMP and energy depleting weapons
- Repair and resupply modules to assist other ships
- Warp Speed inside of Solar Systems can be limited/disabled in the game options, making planetary and orbital defenses more effective
- Weapon angles can be adjusted manually, which makes broadside attacks possible
- "TAB"-key shows volatile subsytems and weaknesses of all ships, making precision attacks with fighters possible.
- cute Owlwoks :)

Negative points, that prevented me from giving 10 points :
- Language localization is not available at the moment.
- Cloaking devices are missing. :(
- It is possible to conquer well defended planets with 10-15 ground troops. Planetary shields, orbital defense stations or fleets don't prevent invasion troops from landing.
- Ships can fly around in the whole galaxy from the beginning. No outposts, supply bases or technologies are needed, to extend the ship range.

Stardrive is definetly one of the few gems in my huge collection of mostly average Space RTS and 4X games. Ad unlike some other games in the last years, Stardrive didn't let me down. (Yes, I'm directly looking at you, Legend of P...!)…Expand

I'm playing this wonderful game since early march, and I'm still blasted away. It's been a long time since the last addictive 4X game (the last I played so excessive was Master of Orion 2). So, for all space faring conquerors, it's one of the most interesting titles out there. Different, customizable races, a full functioning ship yard with different unique ship designs for every race,I'm playing this wonderful game since early march, and I'm still blasted away. It's been a long time since the last addictive 4X game (the last I played so excessive was Master of Orion 2). So, for all space faring conquerors, it's one of the most interesting titles out there. Different, customizable races, a full functioning ship yard with different unique ship designs for every race, nice to look space battles, ground battles and enough micromanagement for your colonies to feel a feedback. Sure, there a a few things that I still miss (otherwise it would be a 10 rating). First, I miss a bigger tech-tree. There is enough room for more. Second, it lacks a multiplayer part (but development is underway). So, when this two points are changed, it gets a 10 …Expand

StarDrive is an interesting game indeed. SD is a real-time space 4X nodding back to the good old days of Master of Orion 2. The game features exploration, exploitation, diplomacy, design, construction & finally destruction.

At the beginning of each game you must choose a race, this will decide what hulls you get to use during play (more on that later). It will also allocate some presetStarDrive is an interesting game indeed. SD is a real-time space 4X nodding back to the good old days of Master of Orion 2. The game features exploration, exploitation, diplomacy, design, construction & finally destruction.

At the beginning of each game you must choose a race, this will decide what hulls you get to use during play (more on that later). It will also allocate some preset traits for you. Traits give you both bonuses and deficiencies. You are given so many points to spend on traits and it is up to the player to balance them accordingly with negative and positive modifiers.

Once you have decided on the race and traits you get the standard options of galaxy size, opponents & AI difficulty. Launching the match is as simple as pressing "Engage!"

Once ingame things may appear a little daunting. You are occupying a little planet with no more than a small handful of ships. But in time, you will slowly explore and locate newer and better planets expanding your empire as the game progresses.

During play you will come across both friendly and less-friendly forces, as well as anomalies you will need to investigate with troops. Eventually you will end up in a war, and then you will find yourself engaged in this games' spectacular combat. It is the main draw of StarDrive.

This may be a negative thing for some players. For as much of a diplomatic game it can be, it often ends in war. It *is* possible to win by assimilating other races into your Federation, but war is often outright unavoidable.

So this means combat is at the end of the day, StarDrive's main focus. Thankfully it does it amazingly!
You will need to research technology such as missiles, cannons, lasers, new hulls and so on. You will then need to open the Shipyard and actually design the ships yourself (the game does have some pre-designed ships that become available as tech progresses, but where is the fun in that!).

This is where StarDrive excels ship design! Placement matters. You need to put armor in the right places, bulkheads around reactors, set the arcs on your turrets and tell your ship what way to face when engaged. It is brilliant. Damage is directional and critical systems can easily be knocked out in combat.

Essentially, when thinking about combat this game plays like an infinitely bigger and better version of Sins of a Solar Empire where you design your own fleet and pray it proves effective! We all knew the comparison had to come up eventually.

Let's move onto the races and AI.

The races themselves are astonishingly beautiful and are all animated. They loop naturally, but it is great! They also each have background music/noise. The haunting theme that plays in the background when dealing with the Draylocks always comes to mind when thinking of this game.

Each race speaks to you uniquely and has their own personality.

Diplomacy itself is certainly there and certainly important, it's just it isn't utilized as much as you might like. Once war breaks out (which it will), diplomacy matters little. Outside of war you can trade technology, make alliances, engage in trade treaties and more. After long enough, a race may be willing to join your federation meaning you get all of their planets and units.

Some races require you to defeat a major enemy before joining, others may need you to show military dominance. Others simply just need time and trust.

You can also partake in espionage to steal technology, sabotage planets and even incite rebellion.

All up diplomacy could be worked on, but it is much better than what you get in a game like Civilization V.

AI unfortunately can be rather aggressive even on easy. If you have a weak military, there is a good chance a race will declare war on you. This can occur even moments after you meet them (Opteris are often very aggressive). This could do with some adjustments particularly on the lower difficulty settings so as to avoid scaring newer and less confident players away.

During war itself the AI can be quite dangerous sometimes. This is amplified by AI using your past ship designs from previous games... the designs that were effective!

The soundtrack is nice but not "in-your-face" and does a good job of conveying atmosphere.

The controls are logical and get the job done effectively.

On smaller maps the game can be played as a large RTS able to be beaten in an evening of warfare, or it can be played on a huge map where longer term planning is needed and it becomes like a true 4X of old!

Considering StarDrive was developed by a single man, this game is just unbelievable! He had help with art and sound assets, but the core game was coded by him alone.

StarDrive has incredible polish, particularly when compared to recent installments in the genre. Think of this as a cross between Master of Orion 2 and Sins of a Solar Empire focused on ship design and combat and you will get an idea of what the game entails.

Played this for almost 7 hours now and I think this Indie game comes closest to the addictive gameplay of Master of Orion 2 as any other 4X game ever did! There are still some rough edges around the interface/gameplay but other than that a new 4X game to play for a long time!

This is the game that i have been waiting for, for a long long time and if you are a fan of space and want a slight challenge then i recommend this game. The default game unfortunately is extremely easy even on the hardest difficulty because of some exploits with marines and bombing but if you play it with gravity wells or even with 0 faster than light travel till you leave the hole systemThis is the game that i have been waiting for, for a long long time and if you are a fan of space and want a slight challenge then i recommend this game. The default game unfortunately is extremely easy even on the hardest difficulty because of some exploits with marines and bombing but if you play it with gravity wells or even with 0 faster than light travel till you leave the hole system giving it a sins of the solar feel then in my opinion the game is amazing it still has a bit fleshing out to do and the creator Zero who is a one man team genius IMO is generally on most bugs when reported like a flash and i have no doubt that he will flesh out the research tree and add a bit more life to the game but for what it is atm i am extremely happy with it. For thoughts with worrying thoughts with the the highly negative reports coming in all i would say is look at the forum or even you tube videos out there and decide from what you see from that i think people are to quick once they see one or two negative things with the recent 4x failures out that to just say well nice try yet another failure and i think that is a very unfair judging to this game dose it have flaws yes but i highly believe with my over 200 hours of play that it has amazing potential and if you don't like to wait for it to get better than give the game maybe 2 more month and look at more videos and give it a second look then. In closing Zero has done an amazing job with giving a space rts game a new feel with strategy with its non lane warp system and amazing ship modifications and the fact this game was designed with modding in mind makes me looking forward into the future with this title.…Expand

Already have more than 40+ hours logged into my game.Quite the amazing game ;-).
I joined the beta testing back in January, dying to play some good 4x games.
Now, onto the finer details:
what does this game have?
1. beautiful diplomacy screens you are entranced by them and sometimes don't want to close them, don't be deluded by the certain woman sitting on the chair...(you willAlready have more than 40+ hours logged into my game.Quite the amazing game ;-).
I joined the beta testing back in January, dying to play some good 4x games.
Now, onto the finer details:

what does this game have?

1. beautiful diplomacy screens you are entranced by them and sometimes don't want to close them, don't be deluded by the certain woman sitting on the chair...(you will know once you play the game)

2. amazing races, each is distinct,diplomacy screen makes them even seem more real

3. fantastic ship customization, you literally can make a ship loaded with weaponry that might be destroyed in a few missile hits, or a shielded beast that can withstand punishment, perhaps you want to have a frigate with marine teams to take over the enemy ships-the choice is yours

4.planetary combat deploy your battalions from your core planets to invade the enemy planets,
gives you the armchair general feeling of successfully distracting the enemy at certain points while taking over their planet

5. mods lots and lots of mods enhance its play-ability, I'm sure many of you have seen how Arma II, and Skyrim have become popular thanks to mods,-well Stardrive as well!- it already has a few mods from the beta version.

6.combat you build your ship, now, for most games that would result in hit-points and so being counted up, but not in Stardrive, in Stardrive where you place your armour, weaponry, power station,and shielding is important. If you have weak shielding or armour to your aft, the enemy could easily puncture the hull there and destroy your power station. If you have no shields for your weaponry, they could disable all your weaponry. If your ship is facing quick enemies, you need to be sure your ships are equipped with combat thrusters.

7.events still in the early stages, however, there are lots of events in this game, such as warp being disabled momentarily, or getting into contact with an early pre-space race

8. music Stardrive has its unique style of music, just check out the diplomacy screens!

9.planet development you can develop every planet you own, or set an governor to handle the 'economic' issues while you go far onto the front-lines to battle the enemies

Like many games out there, there is room for improvement!
However,if you are a 4x fan, or like to customize every ship, this is the game to get.…Expand

This is an amazing game. I got the pre-order beta 4 days ago and have already played 28 hours. The only reason I did not put a 10 is because of a couple small bugs (half of which were fixed with yesterday's update). I really suggest that you try this game out, it is definitely worth it.

It has really good Ship Designer and allows for tons of customization and specialization. The fleetThis is an amazing game. I got the pre-order beta 4 days ago and have already played 28 hours. The only reason I did not put a 10 is because of a couple small bugs (half of which were fixed with yesterday's update). I really suggest that you try this game out, it is definitely worth it.

It has really good Ship Designer and allows for tons of customization and specialization. The fleet mechanics are great too, one of my favorite features of the game. The combination of managing your empire, it's research, and it's military is in the the top tier of 4X games. If you don't like managing everything in the game though you can automate governing, construction, scouting, and ground combat.

The developer is really quick with updates and fixes too, you can expect an update for the game every week. He is also active on the forums and plans to add even more features in the near future.…Expand

I've spent a great deal of time (wayyy more than I should have) both playing and modding this game. Space strategy games like Master of Orion and Sins of a Solar Empire are immensely enjoyable for me so this was right up my alley. For a one-man dev team on a tiny budget, the game is amazingly well-done.

Neutral:
Overall game difficulty 1 being Easy 10 being Hard 6 or 7 IMHOI've spent a great deal of time (wayyy more than I should have) both playing and modding this game. Space strategy games like Master of Orion and Sins of a Solar Empire are immensely enjoyable for me so this was right up my alley. For a one-man dev team on a tiny budget, the game is amazingly well-done.

Cons:
Lack of content. More importantly, amount of unmodifiable assets. That which is availible to be modded are easily modified but things that lack content (Ex: randomly generated events, sounds, Space hazards, unique planets, music, pirates, bonus modifiers, more interesting artifacts) are not open to user-created content.
No space-dangers: Fly into a sun or explore the galaxy without worry of a single negative outcome.
Performance/crash issues
Lack of music variety
Military strength calculations!!!
Unique resources
Racial differentiation or diversity
Lack of fluff nothing interesting to see or explore
Short-tech trees
No multiplayer
Low complexity AI ships

In conclusion: High potential but currently low content. Still loving the game.…Expand

For me, this game is solid in almost all the right places. There are some things that need work, but updates are being pushed out with impressive speed.
First off, let's look at sight and sound. It has a terrific amount of visual polish for a game with a one-man development team. You read correctly it's one guy.StarDrive is breathing new life into the otherwise flagging 4X genre.

For me, this game is solid in almost all the right places. There are some things that need work, but updates are being pushed out with impressive speed.

First off, let's look at sight and sound. It has a terrific amount of visual polish for a game with a one-man development team. You read correctly it's one guy. Each race has a unique ship "look," with its own body plans and color palettes. The soundtrack sets the tone well with expansive and moody tracks, but it's a bit limited at the moment and can get repetitive over many hours of play. There are some minor graphical hitches, but I found these to be few and far between.

For most players, the real meat of this game will be found in the Shipyard. The game encourages you to design your own warships, scouts and freighters to suit your own tactical needs. When I first tried this game, I just knew I wouldn't enjoy designing my own ships... and then I DID. IMMENSELY. What's more, if you have played as one race and designed custom ships for it, the AI just might use those designs against you in future games. A note here as well: some ship designs aren't symmetrical, but this is being tackled in updates.

Where this game falls a bit short for me is in Diplomacy and ground combat. I'll address Diplomacy first.

Each race has its own set of "personality" behaviors. Some will be ruthlessly aggressive, and this feels just like it should. However, it seems a bit too easy to dominate the game using Agents, and the AI is easily conned into giving away endless war concessions. These issues are, thankfully, known and being worked on.

Ground combat (planetary assault) feels a bit too shallow. Default game rules allow for brainless troop rushes by all sides, and the game misses a tactical element it might have added here. That said, there are currently several in-game options that let you mitigate this. The problem is that they create new irritations, and feel a bit tacked-on.

In closing, general thoughts. The art style is just what I was hoping to see, and the music is quite nice, if a bit repetitive. Ship designing really does shine, and watching your designs in action is just so satisfying. Empire management can get a bit tedious, but doesn't demand too much attention for very long. The game will feel too hard at first, and then a bit too easy once you find your feet. If you can overlook the small faults until they're buffed out, you just might find a new game to love. Multiplayer will one day be included, so there's that to look forward to as well.…Expand

I love this game, these are the kinds of fun games big developers never make because they don't appeal to everyone. It definantly has some flaws but more than makes up for them. If you like grand strategy, space fleets you'll like this game. The ship designer allows a huge amount of flexibility and has allowed me to recreate my favorite ships from various sci fi ip's. There are aI love this game, these are the kinds of fun games big developers never make because they don't appeal to everyone. It definantly has some flaws but more than makes up for them. If you like grand strategy, space fleets you'll like this game. The ship designer allows a huge amount of flexibility and has allowed me to recreate my favorite ships from various sci fi ip's. There are a couple flaws with the game I wish the ii was a little more polished it's hard to keep track of all your planets and what's going on with them. For example the game always floods you with information that's not pertinent for your empire. The game also has a steep learning curb for most people.…Expand

Great 4X. Spent 6 hours straight on it without even knowing it. This is the most enjoyable 4X I've played in a very long time. There's a bit of a learning curve but once you get that, it's uber. Game has a good community and support.

For me, it's everything I want in a 4X game and there are lots of lazers to go pewpew!

A breath of fresh air, I have been waiting for a game that could help fill the void left by Masters of Orion 2 and now finally someone has actually made a game that I think could be a rightful successor.

Simpy said, this game is what I've been waiting for in a space 4x game. There are many positive things, and the few negatives are not overwhelming at all. I will quickly get out of the way that this game has great asthetics. The art is great, the UI overall is clean, and the races are well designed. All of this is done well in many otherNote: this review is long, there is a TL;DR

Simpy said, this game is what I've been waiting for in a space 4x game. There are many positive things, and the few negatives are not overwhelming at all. I will quickly get out of the way that this game has great asthetics. The art is great, the UI overall is clean, and the races are well designed. All of this is done well in many other games, but barely has any bearing on the gameplay. It is done well in StarDrive, and that is all that needs to be said about aesthetics.

First, some positives. In terms of development, I noticed the developer (who goes by the moniker Zero) interacts with the community to a huge extent, squashing bugs, responding to feedback, and just plain joking around. While this is not directly related to the gameplay, it does mean that he is listening, he is working on the game, and that the game will get even better than it already is. This means that the game will be getting new content, new patches, new modes of play, new new new. It will continually evolve so I will always have a reason to come back and play.

As for the gameplay, there are many good things as well.

My favourite is the fleet and ship design. Designing a ship can take as much or as little time as you want, and ships can be specialized in many different ways. Stardrive takes this module system to a new level, but there are some temporary negatives which I will discuss later.

Fleets and designing fleets are fun too. There are many different parameters you can set on ships in your fleet, and you can give different ships different behaviours in combat allowing for very dynamic battles. Though the design screen could be more robust (and it will be in the coming months I'm sure) the way fleets are done in StarDrive are FAR better than any game I have played yet. Many have tried, but I always felt that the fleet systems left something to be desired, that they were not fun or missing something.

Expansion in StarDrive is easy, with colony ships being mostly automated, and an easy to use planets window and colonize button to select which planets you want colonize first. One thing I like about the way expansion in StarDrive works is that the AI does not consistently outpace you in colonization. In many 4X games, I found that the AI could somehow make a gigantic empire early on with no negative repercussions. This is not necessarily the case in StarDrive.

There are some minor negatives to take note of however.

Some UI windows could use some polish. That is not to say they don't work or are not complete, but they could be further optimized for clarity and ease of use. Fleets and the fleet window are simultaneously the best feature, and the worst UI interface of the game (although it is not terrible, it is simply not the best among even better windows in the same game).

There are numerous balance issues, but this is more because of the newness of the game rather than a core flaw. Most games upon release are unbalanced and take time to fine tune for a larger audience.

There are sadly, still some framerate drops that exist in the game, but this is due to the huge complexity of behaviours and effects that are occurring at the same time. Through the beta this has been vastly improved and is often only seen in scenarios involving massive fleets and battles that would not be the norm. Unfortunately, I am one of those people that likes to just build a thousand ships and watch them smash my enemies into smithereens, and then watch my ships obliterate those smithereens.

This leads me into my final point that I LOVE about StarDrive. The combat.

There may be purists out there who demand for combat to be like Masters of Orion 2, individual commanding and firing the weapons of ships. That combat was awesome, fun, tactical, and interesting. It was also tedious, time consuming, and a little bit silly at times. The combat in StarDrive is fantastic. Damage is applied to shields, modules, destruction of internal parts can cause chain reactions and rip a ship apart. If one side is less shielded concentrated fire will break through and begin hitting armor and components. If you have a large slow ship with only forward facing weapons, lighter faster ships can move around out of the firing arcs and pound away. The feeling of watching your fleet drop out of Warp, and open fire with volleys of missiles, cannon fire, and laser beams to begin shredding your enemies is amazing.

This game deserves your money, it deserves your attention, and it may very well dethrone the current (in my opinion) king of space 4X games Masters of Orion 2 (which was released in 1996 and I still go back to). This game is already amazing, and there are so many things planned for the future of it, that I expect to be playing this over and over in the next decade.

TL;DR-

Developer interacts with Community,
4X's are solid in the game,
Combat is solid.
Still needs Polish
More content is coming.…Expand

Honestly one of the best space 4x games I've ever played. The mechanics are simple, the game is deep, and it doesn't require any annoying micromanagement (unless you want to micromanage). It could use some smoothing out of rough edges, but the quality of this game is astounding when you considered it's made by one man.

This is a great, real-time 4X game. It is a bit like real time Master of Orion II. The game has several interesting and varied races. The main feature of this game is highly modular ship design with components and their placement affecting function. It is a lot like a 2D version of Galactic Civilisations ship editor, only with more of a focus on functional rather than aesthetic design.This is a great, real-time 4X game. It is a bit like real time Master of Orion II. The game has several interesting and varied races. The main feature of this game is highly modular ship design with components and their placement affecting function. It is a lot like a 2D version of Galactic Civilisations ship editor, only with more of a focus on functional rather than aesthetic design.

The release day version is great. A lot of content in there.

Negatives are really bugs and the fact that the developer has not had time to flesh out some of the secrets. A few minor pieces of incidental events sidequests are incomplete and there are not many events secrets.

It is like a 4X Space Game equivalent of Vampire Bloodlines. It is great, innovative but could do with some polish and content. Even so, like Vampire is still deserves a solid 8/10.…Expand

This game has all of my support. I usually never buy games, in fact, it's been about a year since I put down money for a game. This game is different. I also usually never play games longer than a hour (I have really low-tolerance) but this game kept me in for days on in game play. Even in beta, this game is fantastic! You can't really ask for more from the developers except for 2 things,This game has all of my support. I usually never buy games, in fact, it's been about a year since I put down money for a game. This game is different. I also usually never play games longer than a hour (I have really low-tolerance) but this game kept me in for days on in game play. Even in beta, this game is fantastic! You can't really ask for more from the developers except for 2 things, and that would either be a multiplier feature (All of my friends are in on this game) and maybe additional content! Of course, it just released so I can only praise the game and support the devs to hope for more! 26.99$, worth every penny.…Expand

StarDrive is a great game, it doesn't waste time with the trivialities that some game companies waste millions of dollars on but focused on gameplay. performance, and features. I cant stress enough how good this game is nor how directly involved with the community the developer is with constant feedback and almost on-the-fly fixes and updates.

The game is still developing but I wouldStarDrive is a great game, it doesn't waste time with the trivialities that some game companies waste millions of dollars on but focused on gameplay. performance, and features. I cant stress enough how good this game is nor how directly involved with the community the developer is with constant feedback and almost on-the-fly fixes and updates.

The game is still developing but I would buy this game today and everyday after because it is that good, it's been so long since I've truly been sucked into a game so completely and enjoyed myself on so many levels.…Expand

It's impossible to please everybody when making a game, but I am rather shocked that 6 people find the game to be so poor? I started playing StarDrive while it was in beta and it has been a lot of fun playing this game and watching it grow to become what i consider to be one of the best space strategy games of all time. I can't really think of any game which has been without its share ofIt's impossible to please everybody when making a game, but I am rather shocked that 6 people find the game to be so poor? I started playing StarDrive while it was in beta and it has been a lot of fun playing this game and watching it grow to become what i consider to be one of the best space strategy games of all time. I can't really think of any game which has been without its share of problems and yes there are problems with StarDrive which need to be sorted out and these will be fixed soon; the problems are fixed on almost a daily basis and at this stage the problems are minor and pose no real problems. What I like the most is that players are able to come forward on the forum to voice their ideas to make improvements and in turn some ideas are taken to make these improvements. It's nice to know that players have a voice and are able to make a difference and that there is full support to come out with patches often and not to simply abandon the game after release like so many other games have been.

Bottom line, is if you enjoy strategy gaming, then this game is well worth the money as you will be getting a great game and even if you must wait for the multiplayer option, then so be it as it will be well worth the wait. Don't dismiss this game on a few negative reviews and if in doubt, then at least look on Youtube for a review of the gameplay so that you will have a better idea of just what you will be getting.

ver since Master of Orion 2 was released, there hasn't really been a worthy successor. MoO3 was garbage, and several imitators have come along trying to capture the magic of the franchise. StarDrive manages to reinvigorate the 4x genre and is a hell of a lot of fun.

I would give it a 10, but there are still some bugs that need to be ironed out. This game is definitely an indie gem t… Expand

This game is amazing. Anyone who is a fan of Sins of a Solar Empire or Sword of The Stars will love this game. Its got depth, graphics, sound, gameplay....everything. There are somethings that need some fixing but overall a great game from a small company.

I too was waiting for a successor to Master of Orion series. This Indy seems to have captured it, there are some bugs and the tutorial is very fixed (rather than an interactive one). Still the combat is engaging and there is loads of exploration, research and colonization options to keep you engaged. Great game hopefully patches updates will add Multi-player in the future too

Overall this is a great 4x strategy space game that is very well done and has a lot of replayability. When the custom designed ships of your main battle fleet come out of warp into the enemy solar system and begin firing off missile and energy beam salvos at the defending enemy fleet lying in wait, it’s an experience that few other strategy games out there can really match.

For a quickOverall this is a great 4x strategy space game that is very well done and has a lot of replayability. When the custom designed ships of your main battle fleet come out of warp into the enemy solar system and begin firing off missile and energy beam salvos at the defending enemy fleet lying in wait, it’s an experience that few other strategy games out there can really match.

For a quick overview of the game, it is a 4x space strategy game where you start with one planet and a few ships, and expand your empire through colonization, diplomacy and war until you have gained dominance over the galaxy.

The game takes a lot of inspiration from past space 4x games, however, there are a number of ways where it differs from its forebears. Fortunately, most of these differences work to its advantage. First of all, it is played in real-time instead of being turned based. However, don’t let that fool you, it is much more in the vein of turn based strategy games such as Galactic Civilizations or Endless Space than real time games such as Sins of a Solar Empire. You manage your planets, create trade routes, and engage in diplomacy as you would in a turn based game, and you are able to pause the action at any time. Being able to guide your ships in real time as they engage the enemy fleet, however, is a definite plus.

The game’s largest drawback is probably the lack of intuitiveness of some the game menu screens. For example, right clicking in many of the menu screens will close it and return to the galaxy map. This makes navigating through the different overview screens easy and streamlined when it works. However, this doesn’t work with some screens, such as the fleet design screen, where you have to either press the “escape” key or click on the “x” button in the upper right corner to get back to the action.

Additionally, some information isn’t accessible from certain screens where it intuitively should be. For example, the ship customization screen only allows you to create new designs. If you want to update an existing design, you have to go to the planet management screen first.

One of the game’s biggest strengths are the innovative gameplay mechanics that it brings to the genre. However, this also ends up being one of its greatest drawbacks as it often doesn’t do an effective job of explaining the new systems to you. A more fleshed out interactive tutorial would do wonders to improve the initial game experience. For example, the planet automation system is a vital aspect of gameplay but it is poorly explained. It took me a while to figure out that managing a space empire in Stardrive is all about having a few major planets that you manually control, and then delegating the rest of your planets as specialized food, production, or research planets. Once I got a handle on this system the game became much more enjoyable and my empire started to hum along much more smoothly.

Trade ships are another innovative gameplay mechanic that isn’t properly introduced to the player. Trade ships are the lifeblood of your empire and ferry food, production, and colonists between planets in your empire that need them. Automating trade ships is an important game feature that allows the AI to automatically create and manage trade ships as needed, instead of the player having to constantly make sure there’s an adequate number. Again, once I figured out how important automating them was, not having to micromanage them improved my gameplay experience considerably.

Lastly, bugs are still a minor issue as the game leaves beta. The only serious bug I encountered was that at a certain point in the game, the sound effects during space battles became too much for my audio card to handle, and all sound would shut off until I restarted the game. I eventually changed some audio settings on my computer to resolve the problem. Aside from some occasion slowdown in large battles, however, this was the only bug I encountered.

Overall, Stardrive is one of the most engrossing 4x space strategy games I have played. Diplomacy is fun and interesting due to the fleshed out personalities and well-crafted race animations. Ship design adds a great level of depth as each of the weapon systems have advantages and disadvantages, and each race has unique base ship layouts which encourages experimentation. Unexplored worlds can potentially yield relics with potent empire wide bonuses and a number of additional minor factions such as pirates make exploration consistently interesting from game to game.

Stardrive is an extremely well-crafted game and I’m going to give it an 8. It’s something the 4x space genre has been needing for a long time, and if it wasn’t for the issues mentioned above it would deserve a near perfect score. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing a 4x strategy game in a while, and if you can get past the sometimes clunky interface and a slightly less than intuitive learning curve, I highly recommend it.…Expand

I absolutely love this game and I can't wait for the continued support it will receive. For me-it has the perfect blend of autonomy required to reduce micro-management while at the same time allowing you to personalize your empire.

Zero has been a great dev-very in touch with his community-even releasing several bugfixes in one day!
The game itself plays like any 4X game, butI absolutely love this game and I can't wait for the continued support it will receive. For me-it has the perfect blend of autonomy required to reduce micro-management while at the same time allowing you to personalize your empire.

Zero has been a great dev-very in touch with his community-even releasing several bugfixes in one day!

The game itself plays like any 4X game, but features the most intricate and AWESOME combat system I have ever seen. Every ship is lovingly crafted from single modules, ranging from armor plating, to guns, to nuclear reactors. Each one of these components can be damaged in combat resulting in loss off function-what happens if you're ship has a poorly defended reactor that gets hit by a volley of flack?

You'd think this system would only be in place for a single RPG style game, but no-you have tons of these custom designed ships flying around, engaging in simulated warfare that puts your designs to the test. Does your ship have a blindspot? Well it will definitely show in combat.

Among other things-I love the atmosphere of the game. Each race is lovingly crafted and has it's own unique personality.

The game needs a little bit more polish, many people want balancing for troop mechanics and a few other things, but that will come in time. I know Zero won't let this hang.

In terms of my own opinions, all I want is more content! More guns, more research, more races, more modules. That's really it-as well as some minor changes to design UI.

Well worth its money, I've played a sleuth of 4X games like Elemental, Civ, SOASE, and a few more but so far I have to say this is my favourite.…Expand

This game is awesome. I've played the beta for four weeks. Not since MOO2 and Ascendancy have I been as excited for a 4X game. The ship building is brilliant. I eagerly await to see how this game evolves over time as the developer and modders continue. Don't worry about what others say about crashes and such, that's pretty much gone now. For the first time in a long time, I see aThis game is awesome. I've played the beta for four weeks. Not since MOO2 and Ascendancy have I been as excited for a 4X game. The ship building is brilliant. I eagerly await to see how this game evolves over time as the developer and modders continue. Don't worry about what others say about crashes and such, that's pretty much gone now. For the first time in a long time, I see a game with true potential to stay a permanent installation on my hard drive. Nothing Since the original Civ and Warlords 2 have been worthy. That guy Withering can just look me up on the forums to see if I'm real or not. All these guys are. That's because we're a passionate group of core gamers that know when something is fun.

Support this guy Zero. Buy the game. Now. It's a steal at the price point.…Expand

I bought Star Drive on release day and I am hooked so far I have played 24 hours and I am still learning the game. The games not perfect and could do with a few bits and bobs to cut down the micro managment a little. The game has had 3 CTD but as the game auto saves often you don't lose much. All in all a very good game.

This game is a bit of a mixed bag but I'd defiantly say I got my moneys worth on the purchase. I've enjoyed every minute I've played the game and I've played for about 100 hours so far so at this point I payed about 25 cents per hour of game play, which is pretty good for me these days. However, the game is far from perfect and is certainly incomplete. Usually I would never give 7/10 to aThis game is a bit of a mixed bag but I'd defiantly say I got my moneys worth on the purchase. I've enjoyed every minute I've played the game and I've played for about 100 hours so far so at this point I payed about 25 cents per hour of game play, which is pretty good for me these days. However, the game is far from perfect and is certainly incomplete. Usually I would never give 7/10 to a game that is incomplete but honestly, the core features of the game are so enjoyable and are enough to save the game. If the developer, which from what I can tell is basically one guy, keeps all the promises he has made about future support for the game then I will have to revisit this review and bump up the score.

If you are a fan of the 4x space genre and enjoyed games like Master of Orion, Sword of the Stars and Galactic Civilizations then this game is right up your alley. I've found the ship design aspect of the game to be absolutely superb. It takes a little while to figure out how to put together a good ship but it's such a rewarding experience that it all felt well worth it. Seeing the improvement from my early more flawed designs to my later more efficient and effective designs was a very gratifying experience. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the computer utilize some of my ship and fleet designs as well. If you make sure to delete your early screw up designs and keep your save file filled with good designs you will get to experience an added level of challenge to the game when you come up against your own intelligence by facing your own designs in combat.

The game's macro level colony and economy management is simple to understand once it is explained to you. Unfortunately unless you look up the specifics you are going to have to learn by trial and error. The game only has four main resources to care about production, credits, food and science. Your credit income which is used for espionage and rushing production is completely based on taxes which mainly come from production so those two resources are very closely linked. Production, science and food are all managed by sliders and are direct trade offs, in that the more you focus on one the less you will have of the others. I think the system works and is understandable once you figure it out. I've never found micromanaging resources to be very fun and this game made it fairly easy so I think this part of the game is great.

Combat is pretty enjoyable in this game. It's really where you get to see your ship designs shine. The ships are designed with blocks on them that you place modules on. Each module has hit points and can be hit by enemy fire. If the module runs out of hit points it explodes. Fairly simple in concept but this adds so much to the design aspect of the game. There are lots of things to think about when balancing a ship for combat, for instance ammo storage, fire power, speed and maneuverability, warp speed, armor, shields, energy storage, ect... A huge part design will be placing your power reactors because when they blow they take a fair portion of your ship with them. Placing them where they are protected and can still provide power to the ship is a challenging and fun.

The game is unfortunately incomplete. Some races don't have as many hull designs as they should and some of the scripted events are unfinished. At it's core everything you need for an enjoyable experience is there but a lot of finishing touches and polish isn't there. The game definitely seems like it could use more variety in terms of events as at the moment there are really only two complete ones and several incomplete ones.

Summary

Goods
Solid 4x experience at the core of this game
Ship design is excellent
Combat is fun to watch
Macro management of planets is understandable and simple yet important
Features AI to takeover tasks you'd rather not handle for things like scouting, managing freighters or even colonizing planets (especially good while you are learning as it lets you tackle these concepts when you are ready rather than all at once)
Unique and customizable races
This game is really what you make of it
Built in Mod support The developer has made a lot of promises about this. The mods I've tried so far are basic but do change things up a noticeably.

Bads
Incomplete The game still needs some things to be added and a fair amount of polish
Learning curve This game has no instructions or tutorial so you have to learn on your own or by watching others (plenty of youtube videos out there.). Makes it a very bad starting game for those new to the genre.
Gets tedious toward the end You'll win the war long before you finish conquering an enemy race. Would be nice if you could just force them to surrender after you destroyed all their ships and take their capital and good planets.…Expand

Finally a real time game. I've been disappointed by the sheer number of MoO clones lately. The graphics looks surprisingly great, the alien graphics is adorable. The gameplay mechanics is good and the detailed ship design is sound. Unfortunately, the UI still not as good as it should be, certain management tasks are (still) tedious. Yes, there are still bugs and awkward behavior in it. IFinally a real time game. I've been disappointed by the sheer number of MoO clones lately. The graphics looks surprisingly great, the alien graphics is adorable. The gameplay mechanics is good and the detailed ship design is sound. Unfortunately, the UI still not as good as it should be, certain management tasks are (still) tedious. Yes, there are still bugs and awkward behavior in it. I would give a total rating of 7.5 (Disclaimer: I supported the Kickstarter campaign and participated in testing from very early on.)…Expand

A great addition to the 4X genre, especially given the recent drought of acceptable 4X games. The realt-time with pause nature of the game feels more natural than turn based but without sacrificing strategy. The game is not yet perfect, but quite fun and enjoyable. The developer also provides great support and is working hard on polishing the rough edges. Also the game has great mod support.

This is a nice little 4x space game that is definitely worth trying out. If you have enjoyed games like Master of Orion or similar you are likely to enjoy Stardrive. As the amount of ship designs increase over time the game should get even better. I'd suggest ignoring the negative reviews, mainly due to this game being not particularly expensive and being produced by a small team (one guyThis is a nice little 4x space game that is definitely worth trying out. If you have enjoyed games like Master of Orion or similar you are likely to enjoy Stardrive. As the amount of ship designs increase over time the game should get even better. I'd suggest ignoring the negative reviews, mainly due to this game being not particularly expensive and being produced by a small team (one guy apparently). In fact the speed with which he sorted out problems including shifting to multi threading during the beta days was astounding to say the least.

There will of course be the odd dodgy decision by the AI's and the occasional crash but I would definitely recommend this game as a good example of the genre.…Expand

This game is thoroughly mediocre with one really great aspect. All technical issues aside it feels lacking in content. Just open up the game creation options menu and you will be greeted by a complete lack of customizability that you normally find in a 4X game The research tree does not have much depth. There are not a very large number of ship classes. The weapons, equipment and planetaryThis game is thoroughly mediocre with one really great aspect. All technical issues aside it feels lacking in content. Just open up the game creation options menu and you will be greeted by a complete lack of customizability that you normally find in a 4X game The research tree does not have much depth. There are not a very large number of ship classes. The weapons, equipment and planetary upgrades are adequate but not very interesting .

StarDrive is mostly patterned after MOO2. With Galaxy sizes fairly small compared to a game like Star Ruler or Space Empires. Played at normal 1x speed it is real time but paced very very slowly. Many people will end up increasing game speed.

Again it is adequate if not great in all areas except one. That is shipbuilding. Shipbuilding is one of the greatest strengths of StarDrive. No you don't have cosmetic control like Galcriv where you can build your ship out of 3D parts. But you do have a great deal of control over the actual abilities of the ship. The locations, facings and firing arcs of everything you place actually matters and is modeled in in-game combat.

I'm not sure StarDrive is worth $25-30. I would say grab it in the bargain bin unless you are a huge fan of the genre. Hopefully mods can address the lack of content.…Expand

Is this Master of Orion 2? Not quite. However, it is very much its equal. Amazingly well done indie title. Moo2 still has many bugs that require a player work around. This title may have bugs but they are getting fixed, something you won't see with Moo2.

I haven't come across all that much in the way of bugs, and while it isn't perfect I'm confident that many of the issues will be fixed soon. Even as is though, I've had a lot of fun and have certainly got value for money out of the game, so I'd happily recommend it.

StarDrive is a 4x strategy game that I have beta tested and played a few mods on top of that. Here is a summary of what I have noted:

Positives:
+Customization is amazing. You design everything in regards to your ships.
+Galaxies can be gigantic or small depending on your preference. Combat in empty space (away from solar systems) is rare in a 4x.
+Direct control and massiveStarDrive is a 4x strategy game that I have beta tested and played a few mods on top of that. Here is a summary of what I have noted:

Positives:
+Customization is amazing. You design everything in regards to your ships.
+Galaxies can be gigantic or small depending on your preference. Combat in empty space (away from solar systems) is rare in a 4x.
+Direct control and massive fleets. Direction and speed are a factor and you can take control of a single ship even while a massive fleet follows behind your flagship.
+AI acts like a unique race. Certain races are cowardly, others will betray you in a heartbeat, others are focused on honor and will declare war on you if you are caught using a spy network.
+AI uses custom designs. As someone who has designed AI before, I find this incredibly badass.
+Game favors modability. This insures that the game will continue to improve.

Negatives:
-Late game is slow. AI will not surrender even after you have beat them into the dirt (even if you have 1000 ships and they have none).
-Bugs. Orders reset after you load a saved game. Some systems slow down in the late game. Game crashes.
-Default ship designs are inefficient, making initial AI weak.
-No multiplayer. Would love this. Unfortunately, the developer has stated no intention of adding multiplayer without selling it as some sort of DLC.
-Planet management is limited in comparison to most other 4x (such as Hegemonia or Endless Space, from my experience). This is more obvious the longer you play the game. After awhile planetary management becomes a choir that must be completed before the awesome space battles can take place.

Overall, I recommend it. Especially if it goes on sale. If it had multiplayer or good planet management, I would love it. As is, it shows promise but I don't find myself wanting to keep playing after beating the game once.…Expand

Stardrive is a solid 4x space strategy game. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but does incoporate some tried and true functions in interesting ways. The fully customizable shipyard was one of my favorite parts of the game, though others find it dreadfully complicated. Basically, if you're a fan of 4x space strategy games, you'll probably enjoy Stardrive.

StarDrive has fantastic space combat mechanics. Its really cool when fast fleets clash together. Combined with the fully customizable ship editor its a game to remember. Also positive is that you can create your personal version of one of the standard races of the game. But the game has its dark sides. When to invade invade a planet with ground troops (only 2 troops types per race!) theStarDrive has fantastic space combat mechanics. Its really cool when fast fleets clash together. Combined with the fully customizable ship editor its a game to remember. Also positive is that you can create your personal version of one of the standard races of the game. But the game has its dark sides. When to invade invade a planet with ground troops (only 2 troops types per race!) the preparation for it is a lousy click-orgy. To be a really great game there should be more of everything... more tech, more ship types, more troops types, more races, more graphics a larger galaxy.…Expand

Game isn't bad but it's not great either. It's an RTS 4X game which I'm not a huge fan of to begin with, but the slow speed of ships to go places, even when cranked up to x5 speed, is just too much. Sure, you can crank the speed up to absurd levels, ie 50x, but the game starts to stutter a bit. By far the best aspect of StarDrive is the ability to build ships. At first glance it looks justGame isn't bad but it's not great either. It's an RTS 4X game which I'm not a huge fan of to begin with, but the slow speed of ships to go places, even when cranked up to x5 speed, is just too much. Sure, you can crank the speed up to absurd levels, ie 50x, but the game starts to stutter a bit. By far the best aspect of StarDrive is the ability to build ships. At first glance it looks just like every other space 4x game with this mechanic, but it has an added layer of depth. If you make a huge, heavily weaponized cruiser but fail to armor the ship's power source, you just created some expensive space scrap. Unfortunately, the RTS approach again undermines this. The speed at which you can unlock new technologies (the tree is much smaller than other 4x games) often means you've unlocked a couple new upgrades by the time your ships get to where they need to be for combat. Not a bad game but I found it less fun than other games like Endless Space. Worth grabbing on sale if you enjoy RTS/4x.…Expand

StarDrive is a 4x space strategy game played out in real time. These kind of games rely heavily on their AI, Ship Combat, Universe Lore, and Random Events to spice up the game. StarDrive understand this and attempts to deliver on this premise.

AI The AI in StarDrive is both well made and full of horrible flaws. For example, the AI is great at building fleets, attacking and defendingStarDrive is a 4x space strategy game played out in real time. These kind of games rely heavily on their AI, Ship Combat, Universe Lore, and Random Events to spice up the game. StarDrive understand this and attempts to deliver on this premise.

AI The AI in StarDrive is both well made and full of horrible flaws. For example, the AI is great at building fleets, attacking and defending its worlds, and has a good diplomacy system. You wont find the AI flipping between war and peace randomly in this game. Nor will you find it hiding from a fight. The problems begin to turn up when the player doesn't do what the developer expected. For example, it's a completely valid strategy for the player to build no military what so ever and go straight for the most expensive Titan class of ship... and still win. This comes from the AI not recognizing your extreme weakness in military affairs. If you don't "cheese" the AI it's a fun game. Just be aware it's not brilliant.

Ship Design StarDrive has some of the best ship customization I've seen in a while. Want to build a ship full of shield generators and layers of armor around one BIG gun? Go for it. Or a ship with minimal shields, no armor, and stacks and stacks of phaser banks on it? Yeah you can do that as well. Designing ships is a lot of fun. Expect to spend quite a bit of time placing each module, determining where to put your power plants (which explode and take out nearby subsystems!), shield generators, weapons, and armor. If customization of your fleet sounds like fun this is your game.

Ship Combat Ship combat is a largely hands off affair. Your fleet vs Their fleet. Expect to give the general "Attack!" order and then watch your ships fight bravely until one side is eliminated. Watching your ships catch fire as they take damage. Observe as enemy ships shields fail and their weapons start to go offline, is always fun. Their are many different types of weapons that each have their own specific usage. The ship combat is fun.

Planet Invasion Grab your space marines and land them on the planet.. and just wait for your side or their side to get wiped out. It's a completely hands off approach where you just wait for one side to win. You can also just bombard the enemy population and re-colonize the planet if you so desire.

Lore & Random Events Both of these are completely missing from the game. Random events DO exist but they never change the outcome of the game. Remember how in GalCiv 2 the Dread Lord could return and kill everyone? Don't expect that here. Also, the lore of the game is sadly lacking. Beyond some very basic single line bits of text nothing is ever explained about "who these people are" or what their motivations are. Also missing is flavor text about the shiny new weapon you've just unlocked.

Conclusion StarDrive is a pretty good game. If you're a fan of 4x Real Time Strategy then StarDrive is a pretty good game for you. I personally feel that StarDrive should be sold at the $20 mark as while all of it's core mechanics hold up... it's a complete miss on the universal lore and random event packages. As such, StarDrive is a good game a content pack away from a great game. If you're looking for a new RTS game of empire building it's not a bad choice.…Expand

This game is a blatant MOO (Master of Orion) clone and it doesn't hide it (why would it, the first 2 MOOs are the best space 4X games ever). It took everything MOO did right (oh moving those little men from one assignement to another) while introducing interesting ideas (for example Store/Import/Export options), operational area for ships... But it lacks in improving some things: shipThis game is a blatant MOO (Master of Orion) clone and it doesn't hide it (why would it, the first 2 MOOs are the best space 4X games ever). It took everything MOO did right (oh moving those little men from one assignement to another) while introducing interesting ideas (for example Store/Import/Export options), operational area for ships... But it lacks in improving some things: ship design is horrible (even MOO2 had a better interface for ship design), fleet creation/management is buggy, space map interface is buggy and lacking features (limited zoom, very hard to tell what's going on when full zoomed out...). This is a good game but somewhat still looks unfinished. I bought it when it was on Alpha, then passed to Beta, then to Release without very much changes and still some known bugs unfixed.

I understand a very small company made this, but this doesn't excuse charging 30$ for a clearly unfinished game. I would have loved to wait more in Beta and see these issues fixed.

i would normally give it an 8 but im astonished that it was developed by a single developer (also paid an artworker for art but its all on his own) gameplay is good, interface needs improvement and love the shipbuilding of it.

I rather enjoy this game, and is a great game for any person with a great deal of patience. The ship designing makes for in depth combat balance potential and the overall UI is usually pretty straight forward. Up until the end game on the larger maps, the framerates tend to be quite stable and allow for fluid gameplay.

However the game is not without it's issues. Some of the shipI rather enjoy this game, and is a great game for any person with a great deal of patience. The ship designing makes for in depth combat balance potential and the overall UI is usually pretty straight forward. Up until the end game on the larger maps, the framerates tend to be quite stable and allow for fluid gameplay.

However the game is not without it's issues. Some of the ship layouts are not quite symmetrical and it bugs the out of me whenever I come across it. Having to switch from auto to manual on all the planets from a race that joins with me in a federation is another bother. No Auto-fill with select armor option in ship design for those last touches can make finding that last empty slot frustrating on the Capital and Carrier ships. And then the end game lag that is experienced saps all the fun out of committing genocide against the myriad of races that were left. Having to design ships for every level of weapon and ship building tech in order to remain competitive at all points in the game is something that stands in the way of this ever being viable in a multiplayer setting and thus why I can forgive it for not having a multiplayer mode yet.…Expand

Best game since MOO2, Imperium Galaktica 2 or Bird of the Federation. I think in the moment the developer has enormous balancing problems between the diffrent weapons in the game. More different nonhuman races were desirable. For example insectoids or machines...

This is my first time review, and I wonder Metacritics bad decisions. Why usually reliable Metacritic is publishing only bad reviews because there are good critic reviews. Over half of those are 7-9 out of 10!

I think the game is excellent, sure it has a learning curve, but thats what I like, nothing dumbed down. Some aspects of the game may appear to be bugs but actually are not. Real bugs in the game are not really a game breaker.

There's a problem with StarDrive it's so damn good, but it's just a little bit off finished; not quite polished and user-friendly. This does not stop me giving it a hearty 9/10; it could well be a 10/10 if all the bugs and UI gripes and gameplay quirks are ironed out. The important thing also is that I believe they WILL be ironed out as the developer is still there, talking directly withThere's a problem with StarDrive it's so damn good, but it's just a little bit off finished; not quite polished and user-friendly. This does not stop me giving it a hearty 9/10; it could well be a 10/10 if all the bugs and UI gripes and gameplay quirks are ironed out. The important thing also is that I believe they WILL be ironed out as the developer is still there, talking directly with individual

What makes this game special then? A few things spring to mind. The level of player-control of fleets and ships is truly magnificent; to the point where the ship designing and combat is a game within the game itself.

The ship designing isn't just like GalCiv where you put on x modules and that gives you a set of numerical attack and defence ratings for some horrific rock-paper-scissors system. No; the ship design is what-you-see-is-what-you-get. The design of your ships is simulated in real-time in front of you when you see the screenshots of people fitting shields and weapons to a ship hull, those weapon types and locations are actually there in the 3D game firing, and damage to ships is entirely locational and interactive a salvo of torpedoes to unshielded engines will leave you dead in the water; a shot punching through to a reactor will detonate it, potentially causing a chain reaction if you haven't got internal bulkheads to dampen the blast. If you want to survive a salvo of anti-frigate missiles, you'll need point defences, and their arcs of fire will need to be carefully aligned so that you have proper coverage. Basically, the ship design isn't just a set of auto-combat numbers; it's an entirely real, fully-simulated system.

The implementation of structures platforms and stations; orbital and deep space; for numerous different purposes is brilliant, and uses the same ship designer. The Economy is relatively simple, but functional and non-intrusive; the player doesn't regularly have to worry about going and tweaking things constantly. It has room for future expansion; but the best thing is that we know this is already on the drawing board for the Devs, and the game is entirely open to modding.

And that's another important point modding isn't only allowed; modding isn't only supported; modding is actively *encouraged*. The lead developer himself frequently has stepped into the modding boards to lend support to individual modders having problems, and the game itself includes a mod manager and is easily accessible. There are areas that are not yet moddable; but this is not by design, and they are being opened up in future.

There are bad aspects, especially unpolished bits...

The UI is good in some areas (with some excellent automation options), but awful in others (the inability to mass-control behaviours or orders on grouped ships such as scrapping), and can be generally a bit painful and unrefined, such as with mis-aligned text occasionally depending on the resolution the game is run at. It does need a lot of love and better user-friendliness for getting around the game.

There are still many little bugs and lack of options that were raised in beta and not yet fixed or implemented; proper game settings, certain interface issues, some gameplay quirks that have been known about for a while. And whilst these bugs are being fixed, certain *needed* features for a released game are being relegated to second place whilst bug-fixing occurs.

The game feels like it was released early; like it's still a beta, so I can't honestly give what is otherwise a brilliant game a 10. The reason it keeps a 9 is because of the confidence I have in the developers to address not only its deficiencies, but also to support and expand the game over time; they seem genuinely committed to not only providing fixes for existing issues, but continuing to develop the game.…Expand

This game is pretty awesome, its focus is mainly on ship design and combat. The diplomacy is ok (and better than moo2 unless your on hard mode or brutal). Planet management is very similar to moo2 with some new things thrown in. All it needs is multiplayer (which is coming!). It can be really fast paced with a lot happening in the begging as you explore and search forThis game is pretty awesome, its focus is mainly on ship design and combat. The diplomacy is ok (and better than moo2 unless your on hard mode or brutal). Planet management is very similar to moo2 with some new things thrown in. All it needs is multiplayer (which is coming!). It can be really fast paced with a lot happening in the begging as you explore and search for remnants/artifacts then if you arn't at war it can be slow, but chances are someone will declare war on you if you play with 5 or more races. Sometimes it slows down towards the mid and late game but what keeps me coming back is the ship design. It is really intricate and fun and probably the most important part of this game other than straight combat strategy. If you loved SINS or MOO2 this is an awesome addition to those that is faster paced, easy to understand but hard to master.…Expand

There are far more reviews available for this game than are displayed on Metacritic. I tried to post the links here, but the formatting wouldn't allow me.

You can find more reviews, as they are published, cross-posted to this thread in the forums. I post whatever professional published material I find, regardless of its opinion of the game;There are far more reviews available for this game than are displayed on Metacritic. I tried to post the links here, but the formatting wouldn't allow me.

You can find more reviews, as they are published, cross-posted to this thread in the forums. I post whatever professional published material I find, regardless of its opinion of the game;

It is truly unbelievable what one man can achieve. The game is addictive right from start, well presented and is a lot of fun to play. There are still a few glitches and some potential for improvement, but Zero is putting amazing effort into this project releasing improvments almost on a daily basis. If you like 4x games, you have to grab this one!

While it is still a work in progress the game itself is really fun to play. Ship customization is satisfying, and race customization allows you to build an empire that fits your style. There are still bugs to work out, but that hasn't stopped me from logging in a ton of hours with the game already. Looking forward as it progresses. Worth the buy.

That said it took some time to get there. At the start I was in need, from the user-group, to get this game started as felt this had a weary steep learning curve. As I progressed and learned all the hidden features of the game it simply grew on me. The lack of multi-player is sad as I enjoyed this in Sins of a solar empire.

I enjoy 4x games and have been wanting a new space game for a while. StarDrive is a nice space 4x game that does a lot well and need improvement. It is the closest modern game to Master Of Orion (the first one) than anything I have seen. I mean it is literally MOO with graphics upgrades and real time. The battles are nice, ship design is fun, diplomacy works well and the AI isn'tI enjoy 4x games and have been wanting a new space game for a while. StarDrive is a nice space 4x game that does a lot well and need improvement. It is the closest modern game to Master Of Orion (the first one) than anything I have seen. I mean it is literally MOO with graphics upgrades and real time. The battles are nice, ship design is fun, diplomacy works well and the AI isn't completely retarded.

Down sides is there isn't a way to easily upgrade your ships, gameplay is slow at times and trying to quickly find a ship or base in the empire list is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles.

Some polishing issues aside, if MOO was fun for you then you will really enjoy this and it is a fun little game.…Expand

This Game clearly needs some work but its still fun, and still worth getting. Reviewers like Polygon and ign (who gave simcity a 95) are Morons and clearly have not played the game or are not getting payed for good reviews.
i.imgur.com/1kV469G.gif

Love this game! I stumbled onto it yesterday (May 20th, 2013) and find this game a lot of fun and not to difficult to learn. I don't know if this game is completed yet, I have heard they are still working on it, but when it is I will definitely buy it. Good job guys it's hard to find a good space game like this.!

I have played every single Space game for pc and I have to say i was impressed with Star-drive, the ability to "create" custom ships and customize which direction they fire is a well thought out idea BUT.... the downside to this is they are made it look like Mine-Craft in the creation area and haven't really made it easy to use.

The battles are amazing BUT it lags up if the battles getI have played every single Space game for pc and I have to say i was impressed with Star-drive, the ability to "create" custom ships and customize which direction they fire is a well thought out idea BUT.... the downside to this is they are made it look like Mine-Craft in the creation area and haven't really made it easy to use.

The battles are amazing BUT it lags up if the battles get to big... sometimes I can even finish a game because there is to much going on (reason I registered here to review this)

I gave this game a 7, it isn't worthy of an 8 because of the bugs and lack of features BUT it does have allot of potential with an active hardworking dev at the helm..…Expand

Honestly. I don't know how this game has such a low score for critics. Its not the most innovative space strategy game to hit the market in recent years but that doesn't mean its not fun. It has its fair share of bugs and flaws but overall its a good game. The game does provide tutorials but it is still hard to get the hang of. The ship builder is hard to get the hang of (for me anyway)Honestly. I don't know how this game has such a low score for critics. Its not the most innovative space strategy game to hit the market in recent years but that doesn't mean its not fun. It has its fair share of bugs and flaws but overall its a good game. The game does provide tutorials but it is still hard to get the hang of. The ship builder is hard to get the hang of (for me anyway) The game does disappoint in some areas but it's nothing like i expected it to be. I bought this game because of its moddability, which i love to do. Modding is a great bonus, for any game. Also, the sound the ships makes when they enter FTL is very satisfying, as are the diplomacy animations. Until the bugs and performance issues are ironed out, a 7 will do.…Expand

This is just a fun game! This is a game where you can have little experience with RTS games and still have fun. Though the tutorials could use some work. But it can play very deep for those veteran RTS gamers. Ship customizing can be a little meh at first, but later on, you can have some fun building some devastating ships!

For a game being designed by a small team, it certainly manages to be great, and while it could use some work it is a great spiritual successor to the masters of orion games. The artwork and races are both quite good, the graphics are nice, and the soundtrack is fitting. It borrows heavily from other 4x strategy games for its gameplay, but manages to stand out despite that. having spentFor a game being designed by a small team, it certainly manages to be great, and while it could use some work it is a great spiritual successor to the masters of orion games. The artwork and races are both quite good, the graphics are nice, and the soundtrack is fitting. It borrows heavily from other 4x strategy games for its gameplay, but manages to stand out despite that. having spent 100 hours playing it i can honestly say that i dont regret buying it at all and hope to see more content added. if you were a fan of master of orion games then you will surely enjoy this game.…Expand

This game is awesome! Granted there are a few rough edges, but they are far outweighed by the fun of crafting your ships and then testing your designs in combat. I'm blown away by how fun the game mechanic is of being to tweak your starships to outperform! I'm suprised, but I spend about as much time designing my ships as fighting with them! Tons of great strategies to employ and lotsThis game is awesome! Granted there are a few rough edges, but they are far outweighed by the fun of crafting your ships and then testing your designs in combat. I'm blown away by how fun the game mechanic is of being to tweak your starships to outperform! I'm suprised, but I spend about as much time designing my ships as fighting with them! Tons of great strategies to employ and lots of replayplayability. If you like RTS and you like to design and fiddle with your starships then this is it One note, however, read up a bit on how the economy works i quick glance over the wiki site on the game explained it all for me. This is probably the best buy I've made in awhile hours of fun for a few bucks.…Expand

For years I've been waiting for something to come out that really feels and plays like MOO2 and so far this has been that game. After several games, I've got about 142 hours logged and I'm still looking forward to new content, mods, etc. for it.

Designing your own ships, colonizing new solar systems, and the real time space combat is awesome. The colony micro-management is barely evenFor years I've been waiting for something to come out that really feels and plays like MOO2 and so far this has been that game. After several games, I've got about 142 hours logged and I'm still looking forward to new content, mods, etc. for it.

Designing your own ships, colonizing new solar systems, and the real time space combat is awesome. The colony micro-management is barely even existent with the governor AI's, it's actually easier to manage a space empire than it is in MOO2, and definitely easier than other similar 4X space games. The tech tree is a little more limited than I would like, but much better than other similar games, with creative sci-fi technology and cool weapons and systems to load up your ship with.

I'm crossing my fingers that the modding community and the developer keeps pushing out content for Stardrive, it really is the coolest 4X game I've played thus far, beating out Endless Space (also quite good), Sword of the Stars, Galactic Civ 1 & 2, and Sins of a Solar Empire. If you loved Masters of Orion 2, definitely give this a try.…Expand

Not such a bad game. I had a mixed impression at 1st but over all 7/10. UI is terrible and micro-management which is essential part of the game becomes very hard and slow in later stage. Specially the planet part, once you figure out fleet management and resupplying button it gets a lot easier, but colony management and no alerts management is a mess (-2). Sounds are awful but music isNot such a bad game. I had a mixed impression at 1st but over all 7/10. UI is terrible and micro-management which is essential part of the game becomes very hard and slow in later stage. Specially the planet part, once you figure out fleet management and resupplying button it gets a lot easier, but colony management and no alerts management is a mess (-2). Sounds are awful but music is nice (0). Gameplay is fairly good but tech trees could be longer and AI more engaging when it comes to diplomatic relations(-1). Overall a fairly solid game that delivers a new and interesting experience in space SIM genre. Recommended. P.S. I would love to see an update for larger maps.…Expand

BlackBox is a code mod to this game that fixes a lot of bugs in the game and expands it.
Blackbox is almost ready for release after nearly a year of working on it.
Highly suggest you play the game with it.
the mod is designed to be stardrive but more like what you would expect. many many many additions that are designed to make the game what it seems it should be. Yes its a mod and imBlackBox is a code mod to this game that fixes a lot of bugs in the game and expands it.
Blackbox is almost ready for release after nearly a year of working on it.
Highly suggest you play the game with it.
the mod is designed to be stardrive but more like what you would expect. many many many additions that are designed to make the game what it seems it should be. Yes its a mod and im not normally a fan of mod but in this case i highly recommend blackbox as its nearly identical to SD save that it enhances the areas that are lacking.…Expand

Incomplete game and Dev has already moved on.. took our money from early access so he could fund his new game without finishing the multiplayer after it was already promised.

Wish this game had a map generater so I didnt have to play the same galaxy every time.
Pritty much all you do is set the computer to auto govern all your planets and just mass a large fleet and all the AI wantsIncomplete game and Dev has already moved on.. took our money from early access so he could fund his new game without finishing the multiplayer after it was already promised.

Wish this game had a map generater so I didnt have to play the same galaxy every time.

Pritty much all you do is set the computer to auto govern all your planets and just mass a large fleet and all the AI wants to be your friend. Can't be friends unless you already number 1 or 2 top player already so what's the point in alliances when I can already destroy the other AI players?

Game is pretty annoying at times also.. I spent a lot of time and resources to gain the friendship of another race just to lose it in a split second. I was invading a world with foot soldiers while bombing it from space and the AI just decided to colonize it while I was already attacking the planet and it declared hostility on me on the first auto attack that wasn't even in my control to stop.

Another annoying part of the game is the AI declares a planet theirs and for you to leave it alone even when its on the other side of the galaxy. Try building alliances when you need to expand and every ally you have is getting upset that your colonizing their intended planets!

After a few wins.. never went back since this is a dead game and wont ever receive multiplayer. I think this could have been a fun game if I had actual people to play with or against.…Collapse

Zero Sum Games has created a worthy addition to the 4X genre. What is more - modders are already creating more and more cool modifications for StarDrive. Ergonomics and gameplay rules should be more user-friendly, but the game itself is far from boring or tiresome. 4X fans will be pleased.

For your first and second time, StarDrive brings a refreshing experience resembling Master of Orion. However, as soon as you understand its basic rules, the game is gone like through a Black Hole. [Issue#232]